Hillary Clinton to return to work

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will return to work today after a month-long absence caused by a series of health scares, including a blood clot in her head.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton Photo: AFP

2:35AM GMT 07 Jan 2013

Mrs Clinton's return, after she was taken ill on her return from a trip to Europe on December 7, was announced in the State Department's public schedule for the week ahead.

According to the schedule, America's top diplomat will meet at 9:15am (1415 GMT) on Monday with her assistant secretaries at the State Department in Washington. The meetings will be closed to the press.

A series of other meetings is planned through the week including talks at the White House on Tuesday with Defence Secretary Leon Panetta and National Security Advisor Tom Donilon.

On Thursday, Mrs Clinton will host visiting Afghan President Hamid Karzai at the State Department and also welcome him for a working dinner.

Last week, State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said Mrs Clinton was "raring" to get back to work after being treated in a New York hospital for the blood clot discovered in a vein behind her right ear.

The globe-trotting 65-year-old diplomat was admitted to New York Presbyterian Hospital on Dec 30 after a routine scan revealed the clot in the space between her skull and her brain.

Mrs Clinton left hospital on Wednesday after three days of treatment, and headed to her home in Chappaqua, New York, as doctors who have prescribed her blood thinners said they expect her to make a full recovery.

"She's looking forward to getting back to the office," Ms Nuland said on Thursday. "She is very much planning to do so next week."

It is unlikely though that Mrs Clinton, the most-travelled secretary of state after notching up almost a million miles and 112 countries during her four years in office, will undertake any more foreign travel in her last weeks in the job.

Her doctors have advised her against any international travel for a while, and she is due to step down towards the end of the month.

President Barack Obama has named veteran senator John Kerry as her successor, and he is set to sail through his confirmation hearings later this month.

Mrs Clinton first fell ill with a virulent stomach virus, which caused her to become dehydrated and faint, causing a concussion. The blood clot is believed to have resulted from her fall.